Hove a hotspot for start-ups

A LIST of start-up hotspots has revealed Hove as one of the most dynamic postcodes outside London.

BN3 is one of only three areas outside the capital to feature in a top 20 for new firms.

Nearly 2,000 start-ups were registered in Hove in 2013/14 – up 27% on the previous year, according to research by accountants UHY Hacker Young.

The findings put Hove second outside London and 10th overall.

UHY Hacker Young said many would be one-man-band IT contractors.

Richard Simmons, a partner based at the Brighton offices, said: “Hove and Brighton are developing a very strong niche in providing outsourcing services to the financial services and media and technology businesses based in London.

“That has led to an ever bigger crop of small one or two-man band businesses being started up who do subcontract work for bigger suppliers. In time many of these small businesses will grow and take on new employees.

“The high ranking for Hove is really good news for the area.”

Tony Mernagh, executive of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “It doesn’t surprise me that Hove is a hotspot. First of all the demographic of Hove has changed markedly from the days when it was considered a place for old people.

“It is probably full of bright young things who have fled London and have ideas coming out of their ears.

“It also probably benefits from Brighton overspill although I imagine that will be quite a controversial statement in Hove.”

Mike Herd, executive director of Sussex Innovation Centre, said: “It’s great to see the wealth of start-up and freelance talent in Hove recognised in this way.

“What we want to see is the most ambitious of these entrepreneurs finding the resources, investment and support to become real high-growth businesses of the future.”

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But Darren Fell, MD of Crunch Accounting, a start-up success story from Hove, suggested a statistical anomaly could be at play.

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The firm is responsible for Golimited.co which offers free registration for Crunch customers, meaning a disproportionate number could be registered at the firm’s Hove address.

He said: “Our own research has shown Hove is very strong with lots of micros. But I don’t think Hove is going mad with start-ups. We’ve been doing a lot of incorporations through Golimited and we definitely feel this could be skewing the results.”

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Comments (4)

It's not Tony Merhaghs comment about Brighton overspill that's controversial, it's his insulting remark about old people - old people have ideas too, Tony. I hope you don't employ people based on age or you'll get your wrists slapped. That said, it's a great story and good news. Poor old Steve Percy will find it even harder to find a parking space now.

It's not Tony Merhaghs comment about Brighton overspill that's controversial, it's his insulting remark about old people - old people have ideas too, Tony. I hope you don't employ people based on age or you'll get your wrists slapped.
That said, it's a great story and good news. Poor old Steve Percy will find it even harder to find a parking space now.her professional

It's not Tony Merhaghs comment about Brighton overspill that's controversial, it's his insulting remark about old people - old people have ideas too, Tony. I hope you don't employ people based on age or you'll get your wrists slapped. That said, it's a great story and good news. Poor old Steve Percy will find it even harder to find a parking space now.

Score: 1

bug eye says...6:53pm Tue 10 Jun 14

with recent news that Hove is the no. 1 destination for yuppies leaving London we need the council planning department to get with the 21st century and realise that London yuppies do not all want white plastic or velux windows or tile hung dormers.

with recent news that Hove is the no. 1 destination for yuppies leaving London we need the council planning department to get with the 21st century and realise that London yuppies do not all want white plastic or velux windows or tile hung dormers.bug eye

with recent news that Hove is the no. 1 destination for yuppies leaving London we need the council planning department to get with the 21st century and realise that London yuppies do not all want white plastic or velux windows or tile hung dormers.

Score: -1

platelet says...10:48pm Tue 10 Jun 14

Dynamic ? Cannot get a wifi signal in the tight fisted building that is Hove Town Hall.

Dynamic ?
Cannot get a wifi signal in the tight fisted building that is Hove Town Hall.platelet

Dynamic ? Cannot get a wifi signal in the tight fisted building that is Hove Town Hall.

Score: 0

localboy78 says...9:44am Wed 11 Jun 14

Now perhaps it's the time to FINALLY divorce ourselves from Brighton and reinstate the Borough of Hove, or even absorb ourselves into Adur District. Hove is flourishing but it needs to break away from Brighton to really reach it's full potential otherwise Brighton will just keep on taking the credit. I've lost count of the number of times 'Brighton & Hove' is referred to as just 'Brighton'!

Now perhaps it's the time to FINALLY divorce ourselves from Brighton and reinstate the Borough of Hove, or even absorb ourselves into Adur District. Hove is flourishing but it needs to break away from Brighton to really reach it's full potential otherwise Brighton will just keep on taking the credit.
I've lost count of the number of times 'Brighton & Hove' is referred to as just 'Brighton'!localboy78

Now perhaps it's the time to FINALLY divorce ourselves from Brighton and reinstate the Borough of Hove, or even absorb ourselves into Adur District. Hove is flourishing but it needs to break away from Brighton to really reach it's full potential otherwise Brighton will just keep on taking the credit. I've lost count of the number of times 'Brighton & Hove' is referred to as just 'Brighton'!

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